Major Dick Winters was far from Pa.'s only contribution to WWII

There’s been a good deal of attention on World War II and its veterans recently. Part of it comes from movies such as “Pearl Harbor” and the TV miniseries “Band of Brothers” as well as books, oral history projects and commemorative events.

Jacob Devers

Locally, individuals such as Dick Winters (1918-2011) of Ephrata (and, later, Hershey) have drawn attention to WWII veterans. Maj. Winters was at several important battles in Europe, including D-Day. He earned the Distinguished Service Cross, and a campaign is under way to have him awarded the Medal of Honor.

Winters was but one of the 1.25 million Pennsylvanians who served in WWII. Hundreds of thousands more supported the war effort close to home through their work, volunteerism and patriotism.

Pennsylvania produced 125 leaders for the war effort. Among them were people such as Gen. Jacob. L. Devers of York, commander of the Sixth Army. As hostilities in Europe broke out, Devers was assigned as head officer to defend the Panama Canal. Later, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall appointed Devers as the Army’s youngest general ever. Among other accomplishments, Devers commanded European operations, led the invasion of southern France and led the 6th Army to the Rhine River and on to Hitler’s Berchtesgarden, where the German command surrendered. Devers retired from the Army in 1949 after 40-plus years.

And there was Indiana, Pa., native Jimmy Stewart of acting fame. Stewart earned the rank of colonel and, eventually, brigadier general. He flew more than 20 combat missions and was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his role in the liberation of France. Stewart didn’t retire from the Air Force until 1968 as he continued to serve in its reserves and even flew as an observer on a bombing flight over Vietnam.

Consider, too, that the Keystone State’s rich reserves of fossil fuels — coal, oil and their byproducts — proved essential to victory. For example, in 1944, mineworkers produced 64 million tons of anthracite coal and more than 144 million tons of bituminous coal, a large portion of which fueled the war effort.

Moreover, the Pittsburgh Grease Plant of Standard Oil Inc. produced more than 5 million pounds of “Eisenhower Grease” used in military vehicles, ships, planes and other transports. Allegheny County’s Dravo Corp. Shipyard and its 16,000 workers manufactured more than 1,000 Navy Landing Ship Tanks or LSTs besides munitions, hardware, vehicles and other supplies. Along the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania, the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. was the largest shipyard in the world during the war. There, 35,000 workers built and repaired nearly 2,000 ships. In central Pennsylvania, factory workers in Hershey produced a special version of the famed chocolate bar by the tens of thousands for military food rations.

Industrial giant Bethlehem Steel stands out for its many contributions to the Allied cause. Its mills in Bethlehem, Steelton, Johnstown and elsewhere worked day and night to make armor plate and ships, including the famed aircraft carrier Lexington and the battleship Massachusetts. And the company was the nation’s largest maker of ordnance, shells and components for submarines and aircraft.

Kenneth Wolensky

Pioneering developments came out of the Keystone State. In Butler, the American Bantam Car Co. developed the prototype for the Jeep and built nearly 3,000 during the war. Critical to saving lives of the sick and wounded was adequate medical care and medicine. By the early 1940s, G. Raymond Rettew of West Chester pioneered the mass production of penicillin, the world’s first antibiotic. Working with Wyeth Laboratories, his laboratory — a converted car repair shop — produced more penicillin for the Allied forces than any other lab in the world.

Then there are the stories. Many Pennsylvanians have one in their family or community. Most everyone alive at the time was, in some way, touched by the war as was every community whether it was by sending troops, having “victory gardens” or producing supplies. Oral histories have been collected that document the important and patriotic contributions of so many during World War II, including a major project conducted by the Pennsylvania Cable Network that resulted in televised programs and publications.

Yes, there are lots of stories, but the veterans are vanishing quickly, which makes it even more important to have someone such as Rachel Borgen, whom I wrote about last month, tell us about her experiences. Incidentally, Rachel passed away the day that her story appeared in The Patriot-News (March 2).
Ken Wolensky of Grantville is a writer and historian. He is writing a guest column for The Patriot-News through July.